The Heart of the Matter
by daisydol
Summary: When Bones makes the decision to eliminate the sexual tension between she and her partner, the results are not what she expects. Can their partnership survive?
1. Chapter 1

**So, this story is a bit of an experiment in that I wanted to deviate from my formula just a bit. Rest assured, that doesn't mean that I'm deviating in any way from delivering smoochies. I Just wanted to experiment with a different plot format than the one I usually favor. I really hope you like it, please let me know. Since this is an experiment I would really LOVE your feedback. Happy reading! **

Temperance Brennan watched quietly from across the large ballroom at the D.C. Ritz Carlton while her partner held court with three of the Jeffersonian Institution's biggest contributors. Booth hated these things, hated schmoozing and rubbing elbows, and yet he was doing it with such aplomb that no one would have ever known how uncomfortable these things made him.

It was a black tie affair with all of the Jeffersonian's department heads and scientific assets mingling with its financial backers and various political guests that had been important to the Institution. Some of the most important people in her world were in this room tonight, but Brennan couldn't take her eyes off of the man on the opposite side of the room from her. He wore a tuxedo that was tailored to him so perfectly that he looked like a mannequin on display. His hair was perfect as always, dark and thick and lustrous. At times like these it was almost painful to look at him, he was so handsome.

The group around him burst out into simultaneous guffaws at something Booth said and the smile that he gave them at their response was dazzling. Her heart did a little flip flop in her chest, just as it did every time he hit her with his "charm" smile. She was fairly certain that she'd been able to effectively dissuade him from believing that his charm smile did anything for her, but every time she saw it she felt her knees go just the slightest bit weak, her tummy get just the slightest bit tingly.

"You want me to paint you a picture, it'll last longer." Brennan looked up at the voice that had snapped her out of her reverie to see Angela holding out the glass of champagne that she'd excused herself earlier to retrieve for them.

Temperance took it from her, a look of mild confusion on her face. "Paint me a picture of what?"

Angela's mouth kicked up on one side in a wry smile. "Of the extremely hot special agent standing twenty feet away with all the stodgy millionaires. You know, the one you've been ogling without blinking for the last ten minutes while I stood in line at the bar."

Brennan took a sip of her champagne, buying the moment that she needed to come off sounding aloof when she responded. "I wasn't staring at him, I was merely watching the interchange of a gathering of alpha males vying for dominance in their group."

Angela rolled her eyes. "Sweetie please. This is me. With the way both of you have been staring at each other all night it's a wonder you've even seen anyone else." To prove her point further, Angela stepped quickly behind her friend and covered her eyes. "What color is the flower in my hair?"

Brennan's heart dropped and she blurted out an answer, knowing her best friend well enough to at least pick what she knew to be her favorite color. "Red."

The hands over her eyes fell without comment and triumph shot through her until Angela stepped back to her side with a smug look on her face. There wasn't a flower in her hair at all.

"Very clever." Temperance commented ruefully and then turned her gaze back to the mixer, careful to avoid looking in Booth's direction even after another round of laughter met her ears from his group.

Angela couldn't take it anymore. She'd sat by and watched this same cat and mouse game for so long it was starting to make her head hurt and she knew something had to be done. She also knew that the minute anyone tried to discuss Brennan's relationship, or lack thereof, with Booth her friend would shut down. Still, it was her job as the best friend to try, no matter how fruitless her attempts might be.

Taking a gulp of champagne, she steeled herself for the inevitable backlash that her words were about to create and then turned to face her friend. "Okay, I know you're going to get all huffy about this but I don't care. It needs to be said."

Brennan turned her attention quickly back to Angela, the urgency in her tone both intriguing her and worrying her. She'd heard this tone before and rarely did the words that followed sit well with her.

"You've had a lot of things happen in your life, a lot of unhappiness and a lot of mistrust. I get that. But there is a man, a beautiful, beautiful man standing across the room over there. He's wearing a tux and he watches your every move when you aren't looking. As your friend it is my responsibility to tell you that you are making a huge mistake by not at least making the first move because, God knows, he's too much of an old fashioned gentleman to do it. Go ask him to dance and take him home. Please, for everyone's sake."

Angela waited for the angry reaction that she was sure was coming as Brennan's impossibly blue eyes widened. Sliding her eyes quickly over to Booth, her heart picked up speed as she saw him dart his eyes away, badly hiding the fact that he had in fact been looking at her.

She looked back at Angela and the artist had to hide surprise as a vulnerable expression came over Brennan's face. "He's really been watching me all night?"

Angela nodded, her smile soft and reassuring. "Go over there and rescue him from those suits."

Temperance drained her champagne glass and handed the delicate flute back to her friend, her shoulders square and confident despite the tingling warmth in her legs and the tickle of nerves low in her belly.

Without a word she turned and began making her way toward Booth. He looked up at her advancing toward him and smiled familiarly at her, the easy smile of a man greeting his friend.

Suddenly a thought struck her. Her body had a physical reaction to him, it always had. Over the years she had thought it would diminish, but instead it had only managed to intensify, as evidenced by her inability to take her eyes off of him tonight. It wasn't just tonight either. They could be out on a case or in the interrogation room and she would find herself staring at him, unable to get her fill of him. It was starting to affect her concentration, but she didn't want to sever their partnership either. In fact, the idea of doing so was actually painful to think about.

But, what if she could remove the physical attraction that she felt for him? What if she could sate her curiosity, as she was sure that was the main culprit behind her body's response to him? Maybe, if she initiated a physical interaction between she and her partner, the sexual tension that she'd felt would dissipate and she would be left with her partner and friend and concentration all intact again.

"Hey Bones, quite a party." His voice washed over her like honey and she was sure that it was her thoughts of a physical dalliance with him and not the low thrum of his voice that made goose flesh pop out on her exposed arms.

"Yes it is. Would you like to dance?" Booth's eyes widened almost imperceptibly and then his charm smile was back as he turned his attention back to the group of men he'd been regaling with his tough guy cop stories. "If you'll excuse me boys, the lady wishes a dance."

Brennan turned to walk toward the dance floor and had to suppress a shudder as she felt his hand press against the small of her back to guide her way there. "At Last" by Etta James began just as they reached the center and she turned to face him, her hand going to his shoulder as he took the other in his. Prickles of heat danced along her side when he gently placed his other hand there.

Annoyance began to bubble within her at the heightened reactions she was experiencing and she had to fight to regain control of herself. Suddenly, her plan seemed imperative. If she didn't remove this coiled tension, this all out lust she was feeling, she was never going to be able to work with him again.

"Thanks for the rescue over there."

Brennan cocked her head at her partner's words. "You seemed to be enjoying your conversation."

Booth smiled at her. "You know me Bones, I hate these things. Doesn't mean I'm not a good faker."

Brennan smiled back at him, pleased that she _had_ known that as she'd watched him earlier. It also reminded her of the conversation she'd had with Angela when she'd been caught watching him, the conversation that had set her on this course. It was time to be bold, to put things into motion that would make their partnership as uncomplicated as it used to be.

Pulling her hand from his she wrapped both hands loosely around the back of his neck and pulled him slightly closer so their bodies would touch as they swayed to the music. His easy smile faltered slightly as a look of mild uncertainty entered his eyes.

"I saw you looking at me earlier."

Her heart began to slam in her chest as his smile slipped completely and a light blush colored his cheeks. If she'd needed affirmation, she'd just gotten it.

Her voice came out soft and slow as she went on. "I've been looking at you too."

His eyes snapped up to meet hers. "You have?"

She nodded and attempted a coy smile that she was sure came out a bit more uncertain than coy. This wasn't just any guy that she was trying to seduce, this was Booth and no matter how pure her intentions were, he was still the man she cared about most in the world.

She pulled him even closer until she could feel his breath on her face. It seemed to be a bit unsteady, which gave her the courage to go on. "Booth, I can't speak for you, but our partnership means more to me than any other working relationship I've ever had."

Booth nodded slowly at her statement. "I feel the same way. We work well together and I think what we do is important."

It was Brennan's turn to nod. "Agreed. So, I've been thinking. If there were something that was impeding our ability to do our job to the utmost of our abilities, you'd want to rectify that situation by any means necessary in order to preserve our partnership. Is that a correct assumption?"

A sliver of suspicion filled his eyes but he nodded in agreement, wanting to see where this was headed. To his utter surprise, the woman before him licked her lips seductively and then leaned in until her mouth was a fraction of an inch from his ear. When she spoke in a low, sultry whisper, he had to fight to keep from shuddering.

"I want you Booth. I want you and I think that you want me. I'm going to get my coat, and then walk out that door. If I'm right, meet me at my place in half an hour. If I'm wrong, no hard feelings. We'll just have to redefine our working relationship. The choice is yours."

She pulled away from him, brushing her lips gently across his cheek as she did so. He wasn't able to hold back the shudder at that and the small smile that graced her face as she looked back into his own told him that she hadn't missed it.

Without another word she turned to walk away from him and he watched in stunned silence as she did just what she told him she'd do. She made her way to her table, took her coat from the back of the chair and walked gracefully out the door without so much as a glance back.

His heart was pounding. Everything was upside down and wrong side out. Ten minutes ago he'd been center stage at a boring squint mixer and now he was being propositioned by the woman he held above all others. What the hell had brought this on?

Making his way off the dance floor he walked out of the building, avoiding eye contact with anyone for fear that they would sidetrack him with another boring conversation about science. He needed some air.

The brisk autumn night hit him as soon as he made his way out of the lobby, bringing him back to himself a bit. If he knew Bones, and he liked to think that he knew Bones, something had caused this that went beyond merely "wanting him". There had to be more to her behavior tonight than just lust. Had something happened with her family? Had something gone awry that she wasn't telling him?

He thought about how he'd felt when she'd walked into the room tonight in that pale blue evening dress, blue like her eyes, with her hair all done up the way she liked it when she went somewhere fancy. His heart had been in his throat at how beautiful she'd looked and a small voice in his head whispered that maybe, just maybe, the reasons for her actions were that she felt the same way about him as he felt about her. Maybe she was tired of fighting it, tired of getting up everyday and putting on the friend face when all she wanted was to feel him in her arms, as he wanted.

He physically shook his head, forcing the thoughts away. Thinking like that was dangerous and was only going to get him hurt. All he knew was that Bones wasn't acting like herself and he needed to know why. He needed to talk to her, needed to find out what was going on in her head. Mind made up, he turned on his heel and made his way toward the valet to get his car.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks for reading guys!! I really appreciate the reviews. I sincerely hope you like this chapter too. **

The knock at her door was soft, almost hesitant, but the rush of adrenaline that she got at hearing it nearly brought her to her knees. She'd only been home a few moments, but she'd used her time wisely to change into a long, silky nightgown that hugged her hips in just the right way and sat low enough at her breasts to reveal just the right amount of cleavage. The cream color offset her pale skin nicely and the thin straps looked delicate on her slim, graceful shoulders.

She hadn't had time to take her hair down from the loose chignon it had been gathered up in for the mixer, but that was alright with her, she liked the way her long neck looked anyway.

Taking a slow, steadying breath, she unlocked the door and opened it slowly to reveal herself to the man in her doorway. The look on his face upon seeing her went from one that she dared interpret as concern to unabashed admiration. She felt a blush heat her cheeks slightly. Exactly the reaction she'd been hoping for.

"I'm glad you decided to join me." She stepped aside to let him in and he tore his eyes away from her as she closed the door just long enough to see that she'd set the lights low and lit a few strategically placed candles near the sofa. A warm glow was also coming from the bedroom and he could imagine that she'd lit candles in there too. His heart picked up even more speed at the thought.

"Would you like something to drink?"

Her voice was low, seductive and he found himself looking at her mouth. He blinked his eyes hard to clear his head. He'd come here to talk to her, not to take her up on her offer. "I'll take a beer."

She smiled. "Have a seat on the couch, I'll bring it out to you."

_You're here to find out what's wrong with your partner. You're here to find out what's wrong with your partner…._

He recited the words over and over again in his head like a mantra, hoping that if he said them enough times he would be suddenly immune to what the candlelight was doing to her skin or how her body looked in that nightie. This was too surreal. He was in Bones' apartment and she was in lingerie.

Was he dreaming this?

She came back into the room and held the beer out to him, taking a seat close beside him on the sofa. She was practically in his lap, her arm draped over the back of the couch so she could lean in to him. Unable to stop himself, he glanced over at her to see that the way she was leaning exposed even more of the swells of her breasts than before.

_You're here to find out what's wrong with your partner. You're...here…to …._

Taking a sip from his beer he tried to gather the thoughts that were scattering away like snow flurries before he spoke. "Bones, I think we need to talk about what brought this on. You need to tell me what's happened."

She reached up with the hand that had been draped over the couch and brushed his hair gently away from his temple. He had to fight the urge to lean into her hand and nuzzle it like a cat. She rarely touched him, at least like this, and it felt so amazing.

_You're here to find….out, um, to find out what's, uh.._

"I want you Booth. Plain and simple, my body has a physiological reaction to yours and it's starting to impede my ability to work alongside you without distractions. By giving in to our baser urges, I believe the tension that exists between us will be lifted and we will be able to go back to working alongside each other with the air cleared."

Booth swallowed audibly. "Bones, that isn't a good idea."

A knot formed immediately in her stomach and she had to fight the instinct to run into the bedroom so she could hide from his rejection. She'd prepared herself for this, hadn't she? She'd thought about his response the entire drive home and she'd known that he would disagree, be the gentlemen as Angela had put it. Still, she couldn't entirely keep the sting of uncertainty out of her voice as she replied. "You don't want me? You don't feel the same way?"

Booth set his beer down on the coffee table and turned his body on the couch so he could face her as she was facing him. Taking her hand in his he willed himself to be resolute but gentle. He had to do what was right, but he knew how he went about it was vitally important. This was dangerous water he was treading.

"Bones, its not that. I do want you." He lowered his eyes, feeling suddenly very exposed. "I want you very much."

"But, you don't find it as distracting as I do? It isn't disrupting your thoughts at work?"

He had to fight the urge to snicker. God, if she only knew. There wasn't a moment that went by in his day that she didn't occupy some corner of his thoughts. He wondered where she was when she wasn't with him, wondered what she would think about a piece of evidence she hadn't seen yet or a clue he'd just discovered. He loved to watch her at work, examining a skeleton or going over facts. He didn't know how or when it had happened but she'd become his entire universe and his desire to keep her in the dark about his feelings for her was a self-preservation necessity. If she knew how he felt he'd lose her, both personally and professionally. At least, that's what he'd thought up until tonight. Now he was confused and off kilter and he didn't like that feeling. He liked feeling in control of his life and, at this moment, he felt completely at sea.

He forced himself to look her directly in the eyes as he responded. "I think about you, I'll admit that. No man wouldn't Bones, you're smart and beautiful."

"And special. You said that I was special once." He smiled at her blunt reminder, loving that she was never one to sell herself short.

"And special, yes. But, you're the best partner I've ever had and it's more important to me than anything that I don't lose that."

She smiled slowly at his words and he felt temporarily relieved. She understood.

"I feel the same way. That's why we need to remove the curiosity. Don't you see? We've worked side by side for so long that there is a curiosity between us of what the other would be like in physical sense. It's distracting and, in our line of work, distractions can be dangerous. All we have to do is remove that interest and we'll be able to return to our day to day as if nothing had happened. It's a perfectly rational solution to the problem at hand."

Blaring alarm bells began ringing in Booth's mind, despite the fact that his body was raring to put her plan into action. What she was saying was starting to make a lot of sense to the side of his brain that was beginning to grow aroused at the prospect of making love to Dr. Temperance Brennan while the other half of his brain knew that he wasn't wired that way, that what she was proposing wasn't making love, but no strings sex. He wasn't a man who was capable of being intimate with her and then acting as if nothing had happened.

Not with her. Not this woman.

"Bones, I-"

"Shh." She laid one long, elegant finger against his lips to stop his protest. She knew she was right about this and now that she'd gotten the thought in her head she couldn't stop herself. She kept telling herself that it was completely logical to take this step, that she was only doing it for the sake of strengthening their working relationship. She didn't want to consider that there could be any other reason why she was so desperate to make this happen.

"No more words Booth. I'm right about this. I know it and you know it or you wouldn't have come here tonight."

Before he had time to argue her statement, she leaned in and pressed her warm, soft lips to his. His arms lifted up instinctively to push her away, but she angled her head a bit and flicked his lower lip with her tongue, effectively erasing all of his thoughts before he could complete the intended action. Instead, he felt his traitor arms lightly encircling her.

_You're here to….to… Holy God this feels good._

He let his guard down slightly, just enough for his lips to part a bit more. She felt the change and took full advantage of it, sliding her tongue fluidly into his warm mouth. A groan sounded low in her throat when her tongue rubbed up against his and his eyes fluttered closed.

He was as powerless to stop what was going on as he was to stop the world from turning and, at this moment, he couldn't have cared less. Why did he have to always be the voice of reason, the stand up guy that did the right thing? The woman currently erasing his mind with her mouth was someone he'd only dreamt of having in this context and he was tired of being the good guy. Right now, at this moment, he wanted to be the guy that took what he wanted, even though he knew that it was going to cost him in the long run.

She ran her fingers through his hair, making him tremble. He itched to touch her. Reaching up, he let his hands roam lazily across her back. The soft material of her nightgown and the soft feel of her warm skin were almost the same to his hands. He'd known that her skin would feel like this, could tell from the look of it, but that still didn't prepare him for how it truly felt to touch her.

Without warning, she climbed onto his lap until she was straddling him and then increased the intensity of their embrace until they were kissing with such passion that it took his breath away. She speared her hands into his hair and he grabbed fistfuls of her nightgown. They took turns changing the angle of the kiss, alternated between sucking on one another's bottom lip and launching an all out assault on each other's mouth with their tongues. Brennan began to buck unconsciously on his lap and he lowered his hands to clasp her hips, holding on for dear life as she rode him with their clothes on.

She could feel him beneath her, hard and ready, and the desire to feel him inside her was her undoing. Breaking their kiss she pulled away just far enough to reach between them, taking the button to his tuxedo pants in her hands. She'd popped it open and was setting to work on the zipper when he came enough to his senses to stay her hand.

"Not here." His voice was gruff and she looked into his eyes, suddenly awestruck by the passion in them. He'd never looked at her this way before and it both excited her and made her nervous. His lips were red where she'd punished them with her own and his usually perfect hair was tousled. He looked virile and a little dangerous and she was more turned on than she could remember ever being. There was no doubt whatsoever in her mind. Seeley Booth was all man.

Without another word he stood up and she had to wrap her arms and legs around him to keep from falling. He clutched her under her bottom, holding her too him as he took her lips again, the ardor behind his kiss taking her breath away and melting her like butter. She'd been the instigator but she could suddenly feel herself losing the upper hand here.

Blindly, he began to carry her toward the bedroom and anticipation began to lap at her insides. She'd made the bed earlier in the day and he'd arrived before she'd had time to do much more than light a candle on each nightstand, but the room looked warm and romantic in their golden glow.

Despite his barely restrained desire, he placed her gently on the bed and took her eyes captive with his. He didn't speak as he shrugged out of his tuxedo jacket and then began working the buttons on his shirt. She scrambled to her knees and began helping him with the buttons, eager to have him out of his clothes. She wanted to see him naked again, see him aroused and ready for her. Just for her.

Once unbuttoned he yanked the shirt off and she pushed his undershirt up until he grabbed it and pulled it impatiently over his head. She let her hands roam, enjoying how his eyes closed at the sensation and his muscles jumped under the brush of her hands. "Does it feel good when I touch you?" She whispered, watching his face with avid attention.

He sucked in a breath. "You have no idea."

"Show me then."

His eyes opened at her invitation, just in time to see her pull her nightgown up and off, revealing her naked body except for a baby blue thong that she'd no doubt been wearing under her cocktail dress earlier in the evening.

Booth lost all power of speech. She'd seen him naked but he'd never been given the same pleasure until this moment and the sight that had eluded him all this time was more amazing than he had ever imagined it to be. He had been so sure that he'd made her into something in his mind that wasn't real, an image of perfection that she couldn't possibly live up to. His imagination had been a work by Picasso and she was kneeling before him in the candlelight of her bedroom as a Rembrandt.

He reached out and traced her collarbone with his fingers, letting them fall softly down to the swell of her breast. Her breathing accelerated as he lightly ran his fingertips down the side of it's fullness, brushing his thumb across her nipple until it pebbled beneath his soft ministrations. With a moan she reached out and finished what she'd started with his pants, taking them down as far as she could so he could step out of them. She toyed with the elastic of his boxers for a moment before she pulled those down too and her eyes widened at what she revealed.

"Booth," She looked up at his smoky, half lidded eyes with surprise and then back down at his member. She's seen it when he'd been in his bathtub with that ridiculous beer thing on his head. Now it was fully erect, which changed her perception quite dramatically. "You're extremely well endowed."

Her statement and the expression on her face from looking at him in all his glory was like a shot of adrenaline to his pride and he took her lips with his own again as he began to move forward onto the bed. She had no choice but to lay back as he crawled over top of her and nestled himself between her legs. "And you're the most perfect creature I've ever seen." He murmured into her neck as he trailed kisses all over it. "Ever touched."

Then, suddenly, everything changed again. His intense, fervent kisses gave way to soft brushes of his lips and seductive dips of his tongue. Sitting up on his elbows, he brushed his hands across her hair, her cheeks, her forehead. She wrapped her arms around him, amazed at the feel of his muscles beneath her hands. She'd known he was in good shape, but the hard, solid feel of him made her suddenly feel more female than ever.

"Seeley, you feel so good."

Her tone was almost surprised and a husky chuckle escaped his lips. "So do you Temperance."

Pulling away from their kisses he looked down into her eyes, deeper blue with golden flickers in this lighting. Her expression was one of desire and anticipation with just a hint of uncertainty mixed in it. He was sure it mirrored his own exactly.

"Temperance, if we do this you know it's going to change everything and maybe not in the way you think it will. It's not too late. If you don't want to go through with this, we don't have to."

Trepidation crossed her features. "Do you want to stop?"

Everything in him begged him to stop before they did what couldn't be taken back. The fact was, no matter how certainly his head knew that this was a disastrous mistake, his heart wasn't capable of stopping. If she told him to get up and leave right now, he could. For her. But, he was in too deep to be able to save himself at this point.

He shook his head slowly.

Relief pushed the trepidation from her expression at his response and she ran her fingernails lightly down his back, making him tremble. "I couldn't stop even if I wanted to." And then she signed his death warrant, pinning him with those crystal blue eyes. "Please Seeley. Please, I need to feel you inside me."

His good intentions, his self control, his ability to do the right thing, all of it crumbled to ashes and blew away upon hearing the word please from her mouth. He reached down and pulled her panties low enough for her to kick them off. When there were no barriers between them anymore he tested her entrance, could feel how ready she was for him. With a torturous slowness he eased himself inside her as he watched her face register the sensation. Her eyes were wide with surprise as she adjusted to his considerable size and then they rolled back with pleasure before they fluttered closed as he ever so slowly began to move within her.

Small noises began escaping her lips, noises of pleasure and desire that were making him throb for her. With no small amount of astonishment he realized that he might not be able to go for very long and panic seized him that his performance would be sub par.

Desperately he pushed himself up onto his hands and reached between them, rubbing her expertly with his thumb.

"Oh God Seeley, don't stop!" Her cry was guttural as she tipped her head back and arched her perfect breasts up toward him. He wanted to touch them but he couldn't stimulate her, make love to her and touch her all at once in this position. With a hiss of impatience he grabbed her around the waist and rolled them until she was on top of him.

Reaching up, he took one of her breasts in his hand while he went back to working his magic on her with his thumb. The weight of it was impressive in his hand and he marveled at how amazing they were, how soft and full. He had to close his eyes for a moment, remove the beautiful sight of her as he felt himself getting dangerously close to toppling over the edge before she'd been fully satisfied.

The rhythm of her hips was intoxicating as she balanced herself with her hands on his chest. Her moans began to grow increasingly louder and her chest began to blush pink, all signs telling Booth that she was close. He just had to hold on for a moment longer through the blinding torment of this pleasure and then he could take the release that he needed so badly. The intensity of his body's reaction to her was greater than any that he'd ever experienced and that would have terrified the hell out of him if it hadn't felt so good at the moment.

He'd leave it for tomorrow to be terrified. Today, right now, he was going to enjoy every moment of this before it was gone.

"Booth, oh God Booth!" Her body shuttered and he felt her clutch repeatedly around him where he joined their bodies together. She let her head fall back as wave after wave of pleasure took her. Watching her orgasm was the single sexiest thing he had ever witnessed and it was also his undoing. Unable to hold it back any longer he let go, spilling himself inside of her in such a blinding release that he temporarily lost all mastery over his senses and he was immersed in a state of pure sensation.

After a moment he felt the weight of her body as she collapsed onto his chest, felt her breasts brushing his skin, making goose flesh pop up. He kissed her temple as he struggled to get his breath back.

It had been earth shattering. The idea that they could come together like this and it would be casual, at least for him, had been a laughable concept from the get go but he hadn't expected it to be quite like this. Never had sex been like this for him, never, and he had been with several partners in his life that he'd cared a great deal for. He'd never really been a man for meaningless encounters, even though he'd had them. This, though, was beyond anything he'd experienced before and as sleep began to creep in and take them both his last thoughts were filled with uncertainty and dread.

What had he done?


	3. Chapter 3

**Wow guys, thank you so much for the great feedback. I'm really glad you're enjoying the story, I always get all worried when I'm writing and its good to hear that the results are liked. Here's some more for ya:)**

The sound of a cell phone ringing penetrated Booth's consciousness and he opened his eyes. The room looked unfamiliar and for just a moment he didn't know where he was. Then, all of the memories came flooding back in disjointed images. Bones coming on to him at the mixer, Bones answering her door in a nightgown.

Bones naked and writhing beneath him in the candlelight.

"Dr. Brennan."

The sound of her voice had him turning his head to see her standing by the bed, her cell phone balanced between her chin and her shoulder as she zipped up her jeans. She'd clearly been up for a little while as she was almost completely dressed. He was still naked, which wasn't helping him to feel any more comfortable with the situation at hand.

"I'll be right there."

She clicked the phone shut and he pulled himself up to a seated position in the bed, the covers concealing him from the waist down. They looked at each other for an uncomfortable moment.

"Bones, I-"

The ringing of his phone interrupted him, which was just as well because he had no idea what he was going to say. Her expression was completely unreadable as she stood looking down at him and he reached over the side of the bed to grab his phone from his pants pocket, relieved for the time it would buy him.

As the voice on the other end of the line began relaying information about the body in the empty lot he was sure that this was the same information that Bones had just gotten on her cell. Part of him was a little miffed that she'd gotten the call on her cell phone first.

She walked briskly out of the room as he took a mental note of the location where the body was currently resting and then hung up just as she reentered with her jacket on and her purse on her arm.

They looked at each other for another awkward moment, the entire previous evening hanging between them.

"Body in an empty lot." He said, breaking the silence first with anything that wouldn't involve discussing what actually needed to be discussed.

"Yeah, that was Cam. She's there right now. I guess the level of decomp is advanced enough that she wants me there as well."

The silence stretched out again and it was beginning to get excruciating.

"We're going to need to talk about this Bones." He said quietly, the look on his face one she'd seen many times before when he was trying to tell her something he knew she didn't want to hear. It was a patient look, an understanding look, and it made her want to scream.

Instead she shrugged her shoulders indifferently. "There isn't anything to discuss Booth, there was an issue between us and we took the necessary steps to resolve it."

He folded his hands in his lap and continued to meet her eye. "And you feel it's been resolved? Everything is all tidied up for you now?"

There was an edge to his voice but she didn't seem to notice it as she regarded his words for a moment and then nodded. "Yes. I do."

Booth smirked humorlessly. "Wow. Good for you."

Bones eyed her partner sharply, signs of temper brewing beneath her eyes. "Booth, I'm sorry if you feel I've somehow misled you but I felt I made my motivations perfectly clear last night. If you can't handle it, that isn't my problem." Acid dripped from her words and she looked away from the angry expression on his face to fish her keys out of her purse.

When she looked back up she directed a bland, condescending smile at him. "Thank you for a lovely evening Booth. It was a pleasure."

This time it was his turn to be acidic. "Oh, the pleasure was all mine Temperance."

She glowered down at him for a moment before she turned and disappeared through the bedroom door. He waited until he heard the front door slam behind her to fall back on the bed and press the heels of his hands into his eyes.

So, that was that. It really had just been about the physical for her. She'd gotten the taste she needed and now she was ready to move on. Except, for him, the entire experience had been like ripping open the door to a vault that had been sealed for a hundred years and all of the secrets inside were out, unable to be contained again.

He'd known this would happen and he'd been too weak to stop it because there was a part of him that had desperately wanted that door open, had desperately held onto the thought that maybe she would realize that they had a connection that went far deeper than the flesh.

Well, he was just going to have to live with the consequences of his actions, no matter how torturous it would be now. Swinging his legs out of the bed that he'd only just hours before shared with the woman who was currently carving a hole into his heart, he pulled his tuxedo pants and undershirt back on. He had a job to do first and foremost. If he just concentrated on that, maybe he would somehow make it through what was promising to be a hell of a day.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Bones mashed the button for the keyless entry on her car bad temperedly, throwing her purse onto the driver seat and slamming the door behind her when she took her place behind the wheel. Her hands were shaking and her heart was slamming in her chest. She told herself that is was merely adrenaline from the tiff she'd just had with her partner. What she couldn't explain to herself was why she was gasping air and fighting back tears. She and Booth squabbled all the time, one of the many reasons that they wouldn't make a good match, but she never felt on the verge of tears after one of their little battles.

Taking a deep, steadying breath, she pushed the thoughts from her mind and started her car with a scowl, intent on just getting to the crime scene to meet up with her boss and kick off yet another murder investigation for the FBI.

An obnoxious morning show disk jockey came over the radio reporting the traffic with equally obnoxious sound effects and she punched the dial irritably to find something calmer to listen to. Her nerves were completely frayed. Normally after she'd experienced an evening that culminated in sexual release she felt refreshed, even energized the next day. But from the moment she'd woken up this morning her mood had been fowl and cranky. She'd hoped to just slip out of the apartment without waking him. She'd wanted to avoid him until she got her mood under control, but no such luck.

Maybe she'd just slept poorly, she reasoned. There had to be a fairly mundane and reasonable explanation for her bad temper, she was just too irritated to figure it out.

After all, the sex with Booth had been amazing if she was being honest. He was just as good of a lover as she'd imagined he'd be, better in fact. Her mind brought images to the fore of his body and how it looked over her with its coiled strength. He was so strong and yet every touch had been so gentle, so soft. Her lips tingled at the memory of how his had felt against hers and a slow burn began making its way from her belly down to her legs, making them feel wobbly as she navigated the streets.

She punched the dial on the radio again in frustration as a loud car dealership commercial blared from the speakers, her mood growing blacker with each passing moment. Somewhere in the recesses of her rational mind she knew this was completely unlike her, but she was in no mood to analyze that right now. Right now she just wanted to immerse herself in work, the only sure fire way of distracting her when something was amiss.

Yellow police tape and several emergency vehicles caught her attention up ahead and she pulled her car off alongside the scene.

She was excellent at compartmentalization, she told herself. It was time to switch into work mode.

Cam had told her the body appeared to be about three days old, yet the rate of decomposition was more consistent with a body that had been left for more than two weeks. She pulled her jumpsuit on and made her way over to where her boss was photographing the remains, flashing her credentials to the police officers who had secured the scene.

The empty lot was overgrown with weeds and brush. Empty beer cans, plastic shopping bags, cigarette butts and other detritus littered the area, further proving that there hadn't been anything here in quite awhile. Bones made it to Cam's side and saw what appeared to be a white man in his late thirties; his clothes were partially deteriorated, as was his flesh. Cam had been right, on the surface his remains appeared much older than they actually were.

"Good Morning Dr. Brennan." Cam smiled good-naturedly at her subordinate upon noticing her at her side.

"Do we know anything concrete about this body other than what you've told me so far?"

Cam smirked a bit at Dr. Brennan's lack of greeting, used to her blunt and straight- forward personality by now.

"There was no id on the victim, that's why they called us in. Seems that he was killed somewhere else and then dumped here."

Bones knelt down to get a closer look at the body, looking over the parts where the skin was so badly eaten away that she could see bone. The right side of the victim's face was affected as was much of the right arm and various other spots that appeared random on the right side of the torso.

"It appears to me that some kind of chemical was used to do this level of damage to the remaining flesh. It appears to be an anti mortem injury." She turned her attention to the top of the victim's head. "Also looks like there is trauma to the skull, but I can't say conclusively until we get him to the lab."

"We've got crews standing by to transport the remains and some ground samples for Hodgins, just need the okay from Booth as this is officially his crime scene when we get called in. Where is he anyway?"

Bones stood up, flashing her boss an incredulous look. "I don't keep track of him every minute."

Cam's eyebrows shot up at the unusual irritation in the anthropologist's tone and she could do nothing but stare in confusion as Dr. Brennan turned on her heel and began walking away, tossing an "I'll be at the lab," over her shoulder as she went.

Cam watched in stunned silence as Bones got back into her car and drove away, her tires skidding slightly upon her departure. She was relatively sure that she hadn't said anything to offend the good doctor in the two sentences that she'd spoken to her in the brief time they'd interacted that morning, so something must have happened between she and Booth. She'd known them to bicker on occasion, but she'd seen them dancing at the mixer and they'd seemed just fine.

As if summoned by her thoughts, Booth's SUV pulled in. Jumping out he flashed his FBI badge and then walked toward her, his hands stuffed into his pockets. Her eyes narrowed. On the outside he looked like he always did, fashionable in jeans and a brown leather jacket, but she'd known him for years and she wasn't fooled. He wasn't clean-shaven and his eyes had dark smudges under them. Something was wrong.

"Whadda we got Cam?"

Cam didn't take her eyes off him. "Caucasian male, late thirties, dumped here. Estimated time of death between seventy two to forty eight hours. What did you do to Dr. Brennan?"

Booth snapped his attention up from the body to Cam so fast that her eyes narrowed with further suspicion. "Do? What do you mean? I didn't do anything, did she say something?"

Shaking her head Cam signaled for the crew to come over and begin loading the remains up for transport to the Jeffersonian. "I have a feeling this is one of those things that I don't want to know about. Just fix it, whatever it is, so I can keep my head intact at work. See you at the lab."

With an empathetic smile she patted her friend on the arm and began to make her way to her own car. Booth kicked absently at some stones and then moved out of the way of the crew.

He didn't know what to do. The idea of going over to the lab made him anxious but he knew that they were going to have to face each other eventually. The idea of losing her as a partner over this made him sick. If he had to swallow his feelings back down every time he saw her, well, he was just going to have to do that if it meant still working with her everyday.

Turning to walk back toward his car he took a deep breath. He wanted to kick himself for letting this happen, he'd known what the outcome would be. He felt weak and stupid and, much to his disgust, heartbroken.

Getting into his car he blasted the heat, driving the chilly autumn morning out of his bones. Irritation began to prickle him as he pulled back onto the road and angled his car toward the Jeffersonian. She could act as cold and unfeeling as she wanted to, but he knew what they'd had last night. She'd had fire in her eyes for him, had touched him and kissed him in a way that you didn't with a casual lay.

She'd held him in her sleep.

She was trying to push him away and, at the moment, he didn't much care what her reasons were. All he knew was as each second passed he started to get more and more pissed. So, she wanted to play it distant and aloof, huh? Well, two could play that game.

With a renewed sense of purpose he stomped on the accelerator.


	4. Chapter 4

**I'm usually not as angsty with my stories, another experiment, so I'm glad that you guys are hanging in there with me on this. No one likes to see torture for torture's sake though, least of all me, so I assure you I do intend to pay it off. Thanks everyone who is reading and reviewing, I'm much reassured by your comments and insights. You guys truly rock. **

"With all due respect Dr. Brennan, I feel perfectly capable of doing my job to the standards of this institution."

The group watched in tense silence as Hodgins looked with offended confusion at his colleague. Bones had been snapping at everyone from the moment she'd arrived this morning and Hodgins' wasn't going to take it lying down. Angela looked worriedly from the face of her best friend to that of her ex fiancée as they continued their argument. She'd never seen Brennan like this before and it had her worried.

"I wasn't trying to imply that you were incapable Dr. Hodgins, I was merely questioning why you would choose to start with the ground samples for analysis when the compounds on the victim's face are clearly what lead to the deterioration of the flesh. It seems a more logical place to begin your analysis."

Hodgins was growing more frustrated by the moment. He wasn't used to being questioned and he didn't like it one bit. "I wasn't starting with the ground samples, I stated that I would put them in the mass spectrometer first and then I was going to begin my more thorough, hands on analysis of the flesh compounds. I can do both simultaneously. Why are you challenging me on this?"

"Because, as the consultant on record with the FBI, it's my responsibility to ensure that the cases are being handled appropriately."

Hodgins' eyebrows shot up into his hairline. "Appropriately? You're questioning the appropriateness of how I conduct myself professionally now?"

Angela held her hands up in a gesture of supplication. "Okay guys, that's enough. Jack, I think you should go and do your tests. Sweetie, could I talk to you for a sec?"

For a minute it appeared that Bones was going to refuse as she and Hodgins stared combatively at each other, but then she tersely nodded and followed Angela off of the platform into her own office.

When they were alone inside Angela turned to face her friend. "Okay, what gives?"

Brennan walked over to her computer and typed in her password. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Angela approached the desk and leaned against it, never taking her eyes off of her friend who was currently avoiding her gaze altogether. "I'm talking about your "Devil Wears Prada" imitation out there."

Bones squinted at her computer monitor as she analyzed an email that she'd opened. "I don't know what that means."

Growing impatient, the artist crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Bren, could you look at me please?"

Bones looked up grudgingly from her monitor and met her friend's narrowed eyes. The look that came into them told her that Angela saw something there that she'd been trying very hard all day to keep compartmentalized.

"Did something more than a dance happen last night between you and Booth? Did you actually, for the first time in your entire life, take me up on my advice?"

She knew it was useless to lie to her friend as well as irrational. "I decided that your suggestion was a valid means of removing the sexual curiosity that had developed between Booth and me so we could go back to a strictly professional working arrangement."

Angela's eyes widened to the size of saucers and she perched one hip up on the desk, getting more comfortable for the continuation of _this_ conversation. "You actually believe that is how it works?"

When Bones didn't answer her question she decided to take a different tack. "How was it?"

She'd always felt comfortable discussing her sexuality with her closer friends, but for some reason, it felt intrusive to have this conversation now. She had nothing to be ashamed of, no reason to withhold details that she would have given Angela before, but it just didn't feel right. Not about Booth.

The scowl that crossed her face confused Angela for a moment as she misinterpreted the reasons for it. "Oh no, was it bad?"

Bones immediately shook her head. "No, it was good. Great in fact."

Her free spirited friend smiled broadly and leaned in. "I always imagined that he'd be very good in bed. Is he as much of a beefcake out of his clothes as he is in them?"

The conspiratorial waggle of Angela's eyebrows made Brennan laugh for a moment but then the same discomfort crept back in. She just didn't want to dish the gory details of last night and she wondered when on earth she'd gotten so puritanical, but it felt like kissing and telling for some reason.

Angela's smile faded a notch and she leaned her head back a bit to examine her friend's expression more thoroughly. She wasn't acting like herself at all, she'd been a complete bitch the entire morning. It was so out of character for Brennan to act that way, in fact she only did it when she was truly frightened and trying to hide it.

A light bulb went off in her head as a realization hit her and she uttered a soft "Oh."

"What? What are you Oh-ing?" Brennan had to admit that she was curious as to what Angela was thinking. Her friend always did have a way of reading people and maybe her insights would help sort out the incredible confusion in her mind.

"You told yourself that sleeping with Booth would make the feelings you had for him go away."

Bones lowered her eyebrows in confusion. "I believe I stated that earlier."

"But instead, you realized that you're in love with him and that scares you to death."

The words punched Bones low in the gut and she panicked at her reaction. "That's ridiculous Angela. We are complete opposites." Standing up and switching her computer off she made to walk out of the room, looking over her shoulder as she threw back, "Booth is all wrong for me and that hasn't changed just because we slept together."

No sooner had the last word left her mouth that she crashed into something big and hard in front of her. She stumbled slightly at the unexpected impact and felt strong arms wrap quickly around her to keep her from falling. Jerking her head to face forward, she realized that she'd just walked straight into Booth himself.

The fiery look in his eyes told her that he'd heard everything she'd just said but his usual smirk was in place, which confused her. "Morning Bones."

A little tingle danced through her at his closeness and the slightly dangerous look in his eye. Memories of last night danced through her mind unbidden, of him holding her in his arms and kissing her until she was literally begging him to take her.

She wiggled out of his arms and stumbled back gracelessly, desperate to put some distance between them as she fought to gather her wits. It annoyed her that it wasn't an easy task at the moment and he watched her as amusement mixed with the intensity in his eyes.

As if she was sitting on a hot burner Angela sprang up from her seat on Bones' desk. "Hi Booth. I was just on my way out, to my office to do some…facial reconstructions."

Brennan lowered her eyes in confusion. "No you weren't."

Angela leveled her with an exasperated look as she tried to continue her hasty retreat. "I was too, something Cam asked me to do earlier. I'll just leave the two of you alone."

She was almost out the door to freedom from the molasses thick tension that had settled over the room when Cam appeared and blocked her exit. "Got an ID on our empty lot victim."

Unaware of the drama unfolding all around her Cam smiled up at Booth and handed him the print out. Booth scanned the picture. "David McBride."

Cam nodded. "NCIC pulled the match. His prints were on file because he's certified to teach high school."

Booth continued to peruse the information he'd been given. "Says here he currently teaches science at Adams Morgan High School." Looking up from the piece of paper he leveled Bones with an overly pleasant smile. "I better go over there and see what I can find out."

"I'll go with you." She turned toward her desk to get her jacket but stopped short when she heard him say no behind her.

She turned to face him with a bewildered look on her face. "But I always go with you to question people."

Booth worried his poker chip in his hand absently, his expression never losing its nonchalance. "I'm sure you have plenty of lab things to do on this one Bones, don't worry about it." Directing his attention to Angela he turned his smile up to about thirty mega watts. "But I could use some backup in the reading people department, especially when it comes to high school kids. What do you say Angela?"

Angela looked between Booth and Brennan like a deer caught in headlights while the latter's face was a mask of pure outrage. "I'm good with high school kids Booth."

Booth glanced quickly over at her with a slight roll of his eyes. "You are not good with high school kids Bones, they think you're a stuffy, teacher-like, authority figure. They don't want to open up to that." He directed his attention back to Angela. "But a fun, artsy chick would probably make them feel very at ease."

A hot ball of sensation wound its way through Bones' chest at the way Booth was looking at Angela and she had the sudden urge to slap him, which made no sense to her at all. He was always flirty with Angela, but something about the way he was doing it now while simultaneously brushing her off filled her with something she'd never, ever felt before in her life and she had to admit to herself that she knew what it was. She was jealous and the idea of it made her furious.

As if to add icing to the cake, he held his arm out to her best friend. "Shall we?"

Throwing an imploring look over to Bones she took his arm and they walked out of the room and toward the lab exit.

Cam looked over at Brennan, her suspicions beginning to kick up again at the strangeness of the behavior she was witnessing all around her today.

Bones spun on her heel to return to her desk, her words coming out cold and angry. "I have work to do. Tell me when Hodgins finishes with the chemical analysis on the flesh and tell him that sooner rather than later would be preferable."

Cam found herself raising her eyebrows for the umpteenth time today at Dr. Brennan's biting tone, but chose to remove herself from the doorway as opposed to confront her. Everyone was entitled to an off day, so she would give her gifted employee some space. If it kept up tomorrow though, she told herself as she went to find Hodgins, she and the Doctor would be having some girl talk.

XXXXXXXXXX

Booth could not only see Angela's stare out of the corner of his eye from her position in the passenger seat of his SUV, but he could feel it burning the side of his face. After a moment, he couldn't take it anymore; he was beginning to feel like a bug under a microscope.

"Yes, Angela?"

"Next time you want to go all machismo and make someone jealous, I'd just like to clarify that I don't appreciate being used as the pawn in that game."

Booth's expression was all innocence and surprise. "Make someone jealous? I've taken you with me before when I needed someone a bit more versed in the ways of human nature, I'm not trying to make anyone anything."

Angela was less than fooled. "So, this doesn't have anything to do with the fact that you and Brennan had sex last night and now she's running scared in the other direction?"

She didn't miss the tightening of his jaw at her words before he replied. "Not a thing, everything is perfectly fine on that account and I'd thank you to stay out of it."

She rolled her eyes. When were these people going to learn that they absolutely sucked at fooling anyone? They were the two most utterly transparent people on the planet and it was infuriating that this was obvious to everyone but them.

"I would stay out of it, except Brennan is my best friend and you are the man that she's in love with."

Booth's hands tightened into a death grip on the steering wheel. "Best friend or no, that is my personal business and Bones is not in love with me. Far from it."

A wave of sympathy washed over her as she looked at his rigid posture. There wasn't a bit of him that didn't look incredibly tense. Even his hair looked tense.

"Booth, you of all people know that sometimes when we're the ones in the middle of something its hard to see a situation clearly. That's why you have to trust me when I tell you that she is completely in love with you and she's scared to death." She paused for a moment, watching him carefully before she continued. "She loves you just as deeply as you love her."

He jerked his eyes to hers, a quick denial on the tip of his tongue but it wouldn't form words, wouldn't leave his mouth. He turned to face the road, the silence stretching out between them.

She could tell that he was afraid too and she felt slightly responsible for it. She was the one who had pushed the issue with Brennan last night. Obviously, the two of them were adults and they made the decision to sleep together on their own, but she'd been the catalyst and she needed to ease her conscience by helping them come to grips with it now, in the aftermath, before they screwed it all up.

The first thing she had to do was get him to admit to her what she already knew.

"I'm not wrong, am I? You do love her, right?"

A muscle in his jaw worked as he watched the traffic with intense irritation. She knew this conversation was going to be hard for him, for someone who kept so much inside of himself, but she knew she needed to help him rip off the band-aid.

She shrugged a shoulder at his silence. "I must have misread the situation. I'm sorry, I'll butt out."

The silence stretched between them for a few more moments as she looked patiently out of the window at the passing cars.

"More than anything." His voice was so soft that she almost missed what he'd said.

Satisfaction eased through her at being able to crack the surface and she continued to press him gently. "Then don't turn away from her."

He shook his head. "I'm not the one that did the turning away. If I'd been smart, I would have turned away last night. I didn't do that and now I'm the one being turned away from, not the other way around."

It was Angela's turn to shake her head. "You know her Booth. Everyone she has ever loved has left her, has let her down. As far as I know, she's never been in an intimate relationship with a man where actual, legitimate love was a factor. What she feels for you is real and intense and powerful and she's running scared. I know she's trying to push you away, but don't push back. Be patient with her."

They pulled into the parking lot of the high school and Booth let his head fall back against the headrest of his seat, closing his eyes for a moment. "Angela, I don't know what to do. This is foreign territory for me."

He lifted his head and looked over at her. "I've never-" feeling suddenly embarrassed he dropped his eyes. "I've never felt like this before. About anyone. Not even Rebecca."

Angela smiled kindly at him and laid a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Of course you haven't. She knew it too, and that's why you aren't married to her. And that's why it's so important that you fight for this Booth. This is the real deal, you don't just walk away from the real deal."

He looked up at her and the wisdom of her words sank in. She was right. Smiling gratefully up at her he patted the hand that still rested on his shoulder. "Thanks Angela."

She gave his shoulder a final squeeze and then removed her hand. "Hey, I have a gift."

With a chuckle he turned the ignition off and began to climb out of the car.

"Let's go back to high school."


	5. Chapter 5

***Claps giddily* thank you all so much for the great reviews! This story has been such a challenge; you guys are the reason I've been able to update so quickly. Every time I read the kind words you've taken the time to leave for me I get inspired to write just a little faster:) I think I only have one more chapter to go after this one so lemme know what you think. Happy reading and thanks again for taking the time!**

The kids had all eyed Booth with suspicion and Angela with interest as they'd been ushered from the science lab by the vice principal. Until Mr. McBride's family was notified of his death the school wasn't going to tell the students what had happened, but the rumors would probably fly after the FBI forced them to take an unexpected study hall in the cafeteria.

Angela took in an exaggerated breath. "Ah, the smell of formaldehyde in the morning. Takes me back to my high school days. And, sadly, back to work this morning."

Booth wandered into the office attached to the classroom to look around. It was a small space filled with boxes, shelves of text books and past yearbooks, models, spare equipment, several locked cabinets filled with chemicals, a few file drawers and some framed drawings sitting on the desk. Booth noticed that there were no pictures of a wife or any children, just random art.

Angela joined him in the small space. "What are we supposed to be looking for?"

Booth picked up one of the framed drawings. "Not sure. Just getting a feel for the guy."

She turned her attention to what he had in his hand and raised her eyebrows. "Cool double helix."

Booth turned a questioning glance at her as she took the picture from him for a closer look. "You know, a DNA strand?"

"Leave it to the science guy to have pictures of science stuff decorating the office in his science room."

Angela snickered and put the frame back on the desk, picking the next one up to inspect it closer. "This one is a paramecium. Wow, the attention to detail is really good. Look, you can see all of the cilia as individuals."

Booth stared. "You know, just when I forget that you're a squint you say the words paramecium and cilia."

Angela smiled and picked up the last picture. "These are all signed by the same person. M. Dunham."

He looked over her shoulder to see the signature in the lower right hand corner of the picture. "You think it's one of his students?"

Angela shook her head. "I doubt it. These have the look of a more practiced hand. This person has had some training."

Putting the frame down Angela walked over to the shelf with the yearbooks on it and found the most recent. Thumbing through for a moment her face lit up as she stopped on a particular page. Putting the book down on the desk, she pointed triumphantly at the picture. "Molly Dunham."

Booth looked at the picture of the pretty blond on the faculty page. "The art teacher."

Angela nodded. "Seems like she might be pretty important if the only personal touches in his office are her framed art."

He smiled up at Angela. "Let's go ask Ms. Dunham to come with us for awhile."

XXXXXXXXX

"The substance that was used to eat away our victim's flesh was concentrated HCL."

Bones looked away from the x-rays of the victim's skull she was analyzing to see Hodgins standing in her doorway. The look on his face told her that he was still angry with her from their disagreement that morning.

"Hydrochloric acid?"

He nodded and handed her a report that he'd been holding. "The pattern of deterioration on the flesh suggests that the acid was thrown in the victim's face while he tried to shield it with his right arm."

Hodgins lifted his right arm to demonstrate how the victim had most likely tried to protect himself from his attacker. "Given the rate at which concentrated HCL destroys tissue, this would have had to sit on his skin for long enough that it would have been excruciating."

Bones turned her direction back to the x-rays, pointing at a shadowy area on the film. "Not if the victim was unconscious while the deterioration was taking place. This x-ray confirms there was blunt force trauma to the head, which barring anything in the tox screen, is most likely the cause of death. Until we can remove the flesh so I can look at the skull first hand I won't know what kind of instrument was used to cause the injury."

Hodgins nodded tersely at the information and then handed Bones another report. "Here are the results from the soil samples that you found unimportant."

She looked up from the paper that he'd just handed her to meet his hard eyes with her own. "I didn't say they were unimportant, I merely questioned why you were prioritizing them."

"And, in so doing, you questioned my judgment."

She wanted to snap back at him that she had every right to question his judgment if she felt that it was flawed, but she had to admit to herself that she had been unfair to him. Jack Hodgins was her colleague and her friend and he didn't like having his decisions doubted any more than she did, especially considering that his judgment was almost always spot on.

Remorse temporarily cut through what was turning out to be her constant ire. "I'm sorry Hodgins. You are excellent at what you do and I didn't mean to imply otherwise. I hope you can forgive me."

Hodgins was taken aback. Dr. Brennan had never been an unreasonable person but she wasn't one to admit that she was wrong lightly. Her apology was unexpected and almost touching. "Apology excepted Dr. Brennan."

Giving him a small smile at their truce she looked down at the mass spectrometer results for the ground samples in her hand. "Ephedrine, Iodine, phosphorus, ether, sodium hydroxide, methanol." She looked up at him with confusion in her eyes. "Are these things commonly found in a high school science lab?"

Hodgins smiled the way he did when he knew the answer to something before anyone else did. "Some of them are, but all of them are commonly found in meth labs."

Bones' eyes widened. "Meth labs?"

Hodgins nodded. "My theory, based on these facts, is that the victim interrupted someone stealing supplies from his classroom to make methamphetamine and the murderer, caught by surprise, dumped the acid in his face before striking him on the head."

Bones' eyes grew wide. "Booth detained an art teacher from the school for questioning. They're down at the FBI right now. I'll take this down to him so he can add methamphetamine usage to his line of questioning."

Hodgins reached out for the reports. "That's alright Dr. Brennan, I can just fax them to him and save you the trip. Just call him and let him know they're on the way."

She pulled the papers tighter in to her chest. "No, that's alright, I'd rather not interrupt him if he's in the middle of an interrogation. I'll just take them myself."

Hodgins cocked an eyebrow but didn't argue, much to Brennan's relief. It wasn't entirely unusual for her to take something to Booth while he was in the process of questioning a suspect, but in this case it definitely wasn't a necessity. A simple text message would be sufficient, but she needed to see Booth. She couldn't explain why, she just needed to see him.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Bones turned the door handle to the interrogation room's observation area and walked quietly inside. Apparently she hadn't missed much as the agent who'd given her Booth's whereabouts informed her that he'd just arrived with a suspect for interrogation.

Upon hearing the door open Angela turned away from the two-way mirror and, seeing who'd entered, darted over to grab her friend up in a hug. "Sweetie he made me go with him, don't kill me."

Bones chuckled despite herself. Angela had a way of eliciting that response from her. "I understand Angela, you don't have to worry that I am going to kill you."

Stepping back from the embrace they both faced the mirror and Brennan's heart did a little hop skip at seeing Booth sitting opposite the suspect who was currently in tears. Her skin was pale, as was her hair, which was swept up into a funky bun with two colorful chopsticks holding it into place. She dabbed her eyes with a tissue, a chunky glass bracelet bobbing on her wrist with the motion. Her appearance and general demeanor were that of an artistic yet professional person. Brennan's eyes narrowed. "She doesn't appear to be a user of methamphetamines."

Angela lowered her eyebrows in confusion. "Meth? No way."

Bones directed her attention back to Booth, so confident and calm in his element. He was never sexier than when he was interrogating a witness. Well, she thought, maybe there were other times that he was just as sexy.

Shaking her head she redirected her thoughts from their actions the previous night, as she'd done for the hundredth time today, and met Angela's eyes. "Hodgins found traces of the ingredients commonly used for meth production in the soil and the substance used to eat away the victim's flesh was hydrochloric acid. Based on the evidence, whoever attacked the victim most likely did so during an attempt to steal the ingredients from the science lab at the school."

Walking over to the intercom that led to Booth's earpiece, Bones pressed the button so she could relay the information to him. "You need to ask her if she has anything to do with, or knows anything about a meth operation at the school."

Booth sat up a little straighter in his chair, his eyes widening slightly. "Bones?"

The suspect, Molly Dunham, began a fresh round of tears. "There were bones? David's?"

Booth looked at her. "No Ms. Dunham, I'm sorry I was, I just," he cleared his throat. "Ms. Dunham, what do you know about possible meth production happening at your school?"

The devastated woman wiped her running nose with the tissue and shook her head in confusion. "Meth? Like, crystal meth? I don't know anything about that. David would never have anything to do with that."

"Ask her if she's witnessed any kids with burns on their hands or arms. The attacker flung acid at the victim, they could have been splashed with it themselves."

Booth straightened his tie, her unexpected presence clearly rattling him, but he relayed the question regardless.

Molly Dunham blew her nose. "It's a large school Agent Booth, almost 4000 kids. I haven't noticed anyone with a burn, but that doesn't mean anything. If it has something to do with drugs though, I know that David isn't involved."

Booth tilted his head, regarding the art teacher for a moment. Bones recognized it immediately as the look that he got when he was reading her body language and minute facial indicators. "David is dead Ms. Dunham. The victim of a violent crime. The only way you can help him now is to tell me what you know, you don't have to protect him anymore."

She shook her head vehemently. "I'm not protecting anyone, I swear. David would never have anything to do with something like that. He went to MIT, did you know that? He's been published several times in scientific publications. He was one of the most brilliant people I've ever met, and he dedicated his life to educating kids, to changing their lives." She heaved a sob before she continued, her words coming out in a frantic rush now. "He was perfect and amazing and I never told him! I never told him how much I loved him! I was always too afraid that he would reject me. He was the brilliant scientist and who was I? Just an artist who liked to teach kids to draw and now I'll never know what would have happened because he's gone! Someone killed him and he'll never know that I would have died instead! I would have died for him!"

Bones felt Angela's hand on her shoulder and she realized that she'd begun to cry. Suddenly the room was spinning and she allowed her friend to lead her to a seat. Putting her head between her knees she gulped air through her tears, trying to reestablish equilibrium.

Angela got down on her knees in front of her friend so they were eye level. "Breath, just try to breath."

All of the anger and irritation and bluster melted from her with each passing second and she began to shake when fear, heart-wrenching fear, was left in its place. She supposed that it had been there all along, covered up by the fury that had seized her since this morning. Now it was at the surface and she felt like she was going to collapse under its strength.

"Angela," her words were coming out in gasps. She couldn't get enough air. "Angela, I'm scared. I'm scared."

Angela took her hands in her own and squeezed them, locking eyes with her friend. She knew how much those words had cost her to say out loud, knew that she had to say them if her defenses had a chance of ever coming down. "I know you are. You just have to fight through it. You can't run from it anymore."

Bones looked back into the interrogation room, looked at Booth sitting across the glass divider and she allowed herself for the first time to imagine what it would be like to lose him. Now, after all they'd been through and what they'd finally been able to share, what if he disappeared like David McBride, or her parents or Russ? What if her actions had put a permanent divide between them and she'd really driven him completely away?

She jumped to her feet, the room spinning, and dashed toward the door.

"Bren, stop! I can help you with this, you need to sit down."

She spun back to face Angela just as she reached the door, her sobs shaking her whole body in her panic. "I can't handle this Angela! Don't you see? That woman loved a man and she lost him and I can't lose Booth! I can't go through that, I just can't! I've messed things up enough."

Angela had never seen her like this and she was powerless to help her. Temperance Brennan was someone who had to come to grips with things in her own time and no amount of persuasive words or reassurances would work with her. She had to work through her fear before she could come out on the other side. It still didn't make it any easier to stand feebly by, being only able to watch.

"I love him Angela." Her eyes were wide and terrified as she said the words out loud, hot tears racing down her cheeks. "I love him and I can't stand the idea of losing him because I'm too emotionally incapable of handling things like a normal person. I'm too damaged to have a conventional relationship. I've always known that. Whether its today or ten years from now I am going to lose Booth and I can't handle that because I allowed him to matter!"

With that she burst out of the room, ignoring the shocked looks of the agents she passed in the hallway as she dashed for the elevator.

Angela looked back into the interrogation room helplessly just in time to see Booth jumping up from the table and bolting from the room. She glanced at the control board, her suspicions confirmed.

Brennan had left the button engaged to his earpiece. He'd heard the entire thing.


	6. Chapter 6

**Okay, so I lied there will be an epilogue after this chapter. I'm sorry I tortured everyone with the cliff hangers, I'm a sucker for cliff hangers even though I know that they are just mean and I am "angered" when others do it to me:) I try to update fast though, so I hopefully don't make it too painful a wait. I hope this chapter makes it worth it. Thank you everyone again for taking the time review, wow I could not be more pleased with your response. You guys really made my day.**

**And thanks to Temper Temper for inspiring me to look to the Foo Fighters for some musical inspiration for this chapter. I have a writing playlist on my itunes but none of the songs were really cutting it for the emotion needed in the first half of the chapter. I checked out the Foos and found Everlong (the acoustic version), which helped me break through. Thanks girl!**

Booth burst through the door to the parking garage just in time to see Bones squeal away.

"Damn it." He muttered aloud, digging frantically into his pocket for his keys while he ran toward his SUV. His heart was slamming in his chest and his fingers were clumsy, making him curse when he dropped them in a hasty bid to hit the unlock button so he could get into his car.

He'd known that Dunham wasn't a viable suspect from almost the get go, he could tell that she was genuinely devastated and that she'd had feelings for the man they'd found dead in that empty lot. What he hadn't foreseen was how alike their situation had been to his and Bones'. They were opposites, one the stodgy scientist and the other the artist who operated from a place based more in emotion than anyplace else. Sometimes intervention came in the strangest forms and he could only be grateful that in the face of such a horrible tragedy Bones had made the connection in her mind.

Jumping into his car, he cranked the ignition and threw it into reverse without even bothering to look to see if it was clear and then sped off toward the exit. In her condition he was fairly certain she'd want to be alone until she pulled herself together so he crossed his fingers that she'd head to her apartment while he aimed his car in that direction.

His heart hadn't slowed down since he'd overheard her walls crumbling through his earpiece. He knew Molly Dunham probably thought he was completely insane when he'd gone utterly still across from her while he hung on Brennan's every word. He'd even held up a silencing hand to her when she'd looked as if she might ask him what was wrong.

She'd said everything that he'd been too afraid to ever dream of hearing her say and he'd felt frustrated and anxious being locked away in another room but unable to will his legs to move, afraid he'd miss even a moment of the confession his heart had ached to hear.

Then he'd heard her leave the room and he knew he couldn't let her go. Not when she was vulnerable and scared. She'd go somewhere and refortify her defenses to protect herself and he couldn't let her do that. For both of their sakes, he had to catch her while her wall was down, had to make her see that he would never leave her in a million years before she found a way to hide her heart away from him again. He'd hurriedly told Molly Dunham that she was free to go and chased after Bones like his life depended on it, his suspect staring after him as if he had two heads.

Angling hastily across two parking spots in her apartment's garage, too panicked to care that he hated people that parked that way, he leapt from the driver's seat and raced toward her unit. Relief swamped him when he saw her car. She was here. Now he just hoped she'd answer her door.

It seemed like the longest distance that he'd ever traversed but he finally made it to her place. "Bones!" His voice had an edge of urgency to it that he couldn't mask as he pounded on the door with the side of his closed fist. "Temperance! Let me in, please!"

Several heart stopping moments passed and he banged on the door again. "Bones, I'm not going anywhere so you may as well let me in before I break your door down."

He sounded like a crazy person and he was sure that her neighbors were probably calling the cops at that very moment, but he didn't care. He was desperate to get to her.

He lifted his fist again for another round of pounding when he heard the door lock disengage. He lowered his hand just in time for her to yank the door open, her face a tumult of emotions ranging from pain and fear to anger and also desperation. He wanted to grab her up into his arms but he knew that he couldn't do that just yet. Her stance in the doorway blocked his entrance and he could tell this wasn't going to be easy.

"Temperance, let me in."

"I need some time Booth. I can't do this right now."

His own emotions threatened to bubble over the surface but he held them back with a sharp intake of air as his eyes pierced hers. "No Bones, _we_ need some time and _we will_ do this right now."

He began to walk toward her and though both of them knew that she could have stopped him if she'd really wanted to, she backed up to allow him access to her apartment. Once he was clear of the door he slammed it shut behind him, never taking his eyes off of her. "I'm not letting you run away from this Bones, we're facing this together just like we always do."

She shook her head, desperate to recapture the earlier wave of anger that she'd ridden the entire day. That hot, edgy anger that had kept her safe from having to face the unknown. "I'm still my own person Booth! You can't come in here and tell me what I am or am not doing!"

Booth walked away from her and into the center of her living room, needing to put some space between them so the temptation to ring her neck would abate. He was an ex-army Ranger, a sniper, and yet his trained and skilled hands were shaking as he spun back to face her. She hadn't left her spot at the front door.

"You know what Bones, for someone who is as hyper rational and as logical as you are, you sure have a lot of irrational fears."

Something snapped in her and she stormed over to him until she was inches from his face, her finger pointed at his chest. "You don't know anything about me! I've never had anything but transient relationships in my entire life, from family figures to lovers. It isn't an irrational fear on my part but a known fact that I am not the kind of person that is meant for the long haul. I've always known that!"

Booth's eyes flashed and he grabbed her by the shoulders. His words coming out through clenched teeth. "Oh yeah? Well, let me tell you something that you don't know about me. I've always known that when I fell in love it would be for life and I'm in love with you Bones so you better just get to dealing with that!"

He gave her shoulders a tiny shake before he swiftly released her and stepped away, turning his back to the expression on her face that he was suddenly afraid to see.

Silence stretched out between them as his words rang in her mind, making her incapable of doing anything but stare in shock at his back. He was in love with her. No one had ever said that to her before, they'd never stuck around long enough. No, she corrected in her mind, she'd never _allowed_ them to stick around long enough. Now, here in her living room was the most important person in her life, the most constant, the best friend and partner she could ever hoped to have had, and he was holding out his heart for her.

All she had to do was reach out and take it.

"I don't know how." She whispered through the fresh tears that were brimming in her eyes, her words warring with the silent conversation she was having in her head.

Booth turned quickly at her words and saw the conflict in her face, saw the fear. He took a tentative step toward her. "Tell me. Tell me what you don't know how to do."

A tear rolled down her cheek as she held fast to his gaze, the patience and the love that she could see in their warm brown depths acting as a lifeline for her. The lump in her throat was making it impossible for her to speak for a moment and he took another step closer, reaching his hand out to take hers. It was warm and large, making her feel safe. She wasn't alone. She didn't have to be alone in this world anymore.

He lifted his other hand to her cheek and wiped away a tear with his thumb, waiting patiently for her to be able to speak. When she did her voice was small and shaky. "I'm scared Booth."

He wrapped her in his arms then, tucking her head under his chin and closing his eyes as he held her tightly to him. "So am I Bones. So am I."

They stood in her living room, clinging to each other as her tears flowed, letting themselves take the time to gather comfort from one another. Neither of them were people who admitted fear easily, but the fact that they could admit it to one another eased the discomfort in it somehow. They trusted each other, they always had.

After a moment Brennan pulled away just enough to look up into her partner's eyes. He'd seen her at her worst, seen her at her best and he was still here, looking down at her with those eyes that said he would always be. She didn't know what she'd done to finally have this in her life, but she was grateful that whatever it had been it was obviously good enough.

Slowly she leaned her head in, tentatively brushing his lips with hers. His heart began to pick up speed and his eyes never left hers as she continued to press small, soft kisses to his mouth which he returned as tentatively as she'd offered them.

She carefully unwound her arms from around his waist and then wrapped them around his neck, pulling him in close so she could rest her head on his shoulder. She kissed his neck once, twice and then lifted up slightly on tiptoe so her lips reached his ear.

"I love you too Seeley. I love you so much it hurts."

Her whispered words made him tremble and he pulled back from her so he could look at her face, the awe in his eyes making her cheeks feel slightly hot.

He leaned in and kissed her mouth, his lips sweet and loving against her own. She let her eyelids flutter closed, her lashes resting wet against her cheeks as she surrendered to his touch. This kiss was different than the others they'd ever shared in that it was a declaration. They loved each other and now they both knew it.

His lips left her mouth and began to travel across her face, stopping at her cheeks, her nose, her eyelids, her forehead. She felt like a teenage girl, her legs going warm and wobbly as he threaded his fingers through her hair to cup her head as he scattered his affection everywhere he could reach.

Lowering his hands from her head he let them brush down her back, leaving a trail of heat in their wake until he let them drop. Her eyes fluttered open as she felt him lace his fingers through hers, his eyes burning. "Come with me." He murmured, pulling her gently by the hand back toward the bedroom. Her legs followed him automatically.

He led her to the center of the room and then picked up where they'd left off. Their kisses were sweet, almost innocent, but in their present context they felt more passionate than any Brennan had ever experienced. She'd never had this, the ardent kisses of first love, but she couldn't have been happier that the man she was experiencing it with was the one in her bedroom right now.

His eyes were closed as he concentrated on the feel of her, on opening his soul to her with the way he took his time. They'd only just started down this road, but he knew he was never, ever going to grow tired of touching her. She felt him begin to move backward toward the bed and she followed after him. He sat down on the edge once they'd reached it, wrapping his arms around her waist and burying his face in her flat belly with a sigh of contentment. She ran her fingers soothingly through his hair and they stood there for a moment, absorbing the feel of each other.

Looking up, he met her eyes and rubbed his hands up and down her back for a moment before he hooked his thumbs under her shirt and slowly began to pull it up. She helped him with it when it had gotten too high for him to continue to remove from his seated position and then dropped her hands to her sides when he reached around behind her and deftly unfastened her bra.

Heat pooled in her stomach as he pulled the garment off without breaking his intense hold on her eyes. Placing his large hands on her exposed belly, he leisurely began to run them up until they cupped her breasts. She let her head fall back. Last night had been wonderful, but it had been slightly frantic for the most part in their desire for each other. Now they were taking their time and the difference in the sensations that assailed her with each brush and stroke of his hand were palpable.

With a soft groan he buried his face in her breasts, wrapping his arms back around her to crush her to him as she cupped his head with her hands. His hair was thick and felt amazing tangled between her fingers but not more amazing than the kisses he was scattering across her chest. He took her right nipple in his mouth, suckling it lightly before he licked a delicious circle around it with his tongue and she inhaled sharply at how good it felt. He went to her other nipple next and felt pleasure surge through him as her breath came out on a small sob. God, he loved making her feel good.

Standing up he dragged his own shirt off and pulled her close so he could kiss her more deeply than she'd ever been kissed. The power of the emotion behind his kiss and the feel of his skin against her own was her undoing and her knees buckled slightly. Feeling her unsteadiness, he swept her up into his arms as if she were a princess in a castle and he carried her to the side of the bed, laying her down effortlessly as if she weighed nothing. His strength would never cease to be an area of intense admiration for her.

She scooted over from where he'd laid her down to make room for him beside her. Once he'd joined her on the bed they faced each other on their sides, gazing into each other's eyes again as they stroked one another's face with gentle brushes of their fingers.

He turned his face toward her hand, pressing a kiss to her palm. "I'll never leave you Temperance. I love you." He turned his face back to hers. "God, I love you."

She smiled, the moisture in her eyes rising up from joy rather than the fear or anger she'd been feeling up until this glorious point. "I'll never leave you either. You're the only man I've ever loved and the only one I ever intend on loving."

He took her mouth again, intoxicated by her words, her feel, her very presence. She ran her hand up and down his chest and he suddenly needed to be closer to her. Lowering his hand to her belt, he worked the fastener and then popped the button to her pants so he could lower her zipper. She followed his lead and they both drew apart long enough to discard their garments before they went immediately back to the eager embrace of the other.

They rolled so he was positioned on top of her but they did no more than kiss and stroke, relishing the skin on skin contact, in no hurry to see it end. It was humbling to Brennan how much she'd missed the mark in her life when it had come to sex. Here, all they were doing was laying together, yet it felt more intimate, more personal than any act of intercourse she'd ever participated in.

She ran her hands down his back, memorizing the ripples of his athletic build as she reached the crests of his backside. She ran her hands over it, thrilling at the small moan that met her ears at her touch. He began to move lower, kissing her chin, her jaw, her neck, her collarbone. He placed a kiss between her breasts and then spread kisses across her belly. Her breathing began to increase in speed as he moved even lower still, kissing her hip bones, her abdomen. He skipped the part that was desperate now for his attention and instead tortured her with kisses to her thighs, her knees, her calves and her ankles.

When he reached the arch of her foot, he pressed his lips there lightly before he began to move back up, revisiting the places he'd just left and lavishing attention on them all over again. Only this time, once he'd passed her thighs he placed a kiss to the small thatch of curly hair between her legs and she sucked in a breath of anticipation. His hands reached up to her thighs and pushed them gently apart so he could gain access to that part of her that was the most secret, the most hidden.

Ducking his head, he took her in his mouth as she grabbed the quilt on the bed in her fists and arched her back in ecstasy. He felt slightly dizzy at the heady scent of her, the soft feel of her most sensitive part against his tongue. Her breathing was coming in gasps and she loosely grabbed his head as she came closer and closer to the brink. Just as she was about to topple over he moved, directing his attention back to her abdomen and moving up.

"Oh God, Seeley." She moaned, her body desperate for the release he'd just robbed her of. Reaching down between them when he got back up to her mouth he ran his fingers back and forth across the place he'd had only seconds ago experienced. She whimpered as the tension began to build in her again.

"Do I make you feel good?"

She moved her head up and down in a jerky nod. "So good."

"Do you want me to make love to you Temperance?" She flung her arms around him, pressing her nails slightly into the flesh on his back. "Yes, Seeley please."

He moved his hand, depriving her yet again of that blessed release that her body was now screaming for and positioned himself at her entrance. She remembered how large he was and she gave a small undulation of her hips, sheathing a fraction of his tip inside of her.

When he didn't move she opened her eyes to see his baring down into her own. The fire and intensity she'd seen last night was back, making him look formidable and unbearably sexy and she realized why the look in his eyes had been such an awe inspiring thing for her to look upon. This was the look of a man in love. In all of her experience she'd never seen someone look at her the way he did, like his eyes were boring into her soul.

Stunned by the power of this realization she reached up and took his face in her hands. "Tonight I want you to know that I'll be making love to you too."

His breath hitched as they gazed at each other for another moment and then he pushed past her barrier, making them one. Their gazes locked as they moved together, not wanting to tear away from the contact until the sensations became to much and Booth let his eyes fall closed as he tipped his head back.

She wrapped her legs around him, letting him get a deeper angle as he continued his deliberate, unhurried pace. She could feel herself gathering again beneath him, feel the need in her body to let go and she pulled his head down to crush her lips against his.

She began to move her hips to meet his and he had a hard time catching his breath as the movement made his body tingle all over. For someone who had never been one to relish clumsy, rushed sexual experiences, this was a more powerful experience than he'd ever had, even compared to last night. He'd known that he loved her, but knowing that she loved him too made every move, every kiss, every touch burn a thousand times more brightly.

She began to moan against his lips, his name coming out like a sob and he had to squeeze his eyes shut at the pleasure that surged through him when she shuttered beneath him, her walls constricting around him in rhythmic spasms.

When he was sure she was at the peak of her release he let go, the sound issuing from him a mix between a growl and a groan before he collapsed over her.

Their labored breathing was the only sound in the room as they lay motionless for a moment and then he shifted his weight so he lay beside her again. She kept her leg laying across him and he ran his hand up and down its long smooth skin as she ran her hand lazily along his chest.

"We're going to be okay. Everything is really going to be okay." She said, the wonder in her voice at the true ring to her words making him smile across the pillow at her.

"As long as we have each other, then yes, everything will be okay."

Scooting over so she could nuzzle into his chest he threw his arm around her and they lay in contented silence, looking forward to the start of this new chapter.


	7. Chapter 7

**And we come to the end. You guys are unbelievably awesome. I know I said it every chapter, but I meant it every chapter and this epilogue is no exception. Thank you all for reading the story and for all of the really great and detailed reviews that you sent my way, they really did mean the world to me, but more importantly, I was thrilled that you liked the story. I hope you like this wrap up, its fluffy, but after all the angst I dragged you through, I felt we all deserved a fluffy, happy ending. Happy reading!**

Upon the request of Booth, school officials met for an early morning meeting the day after David McBride's body was found. A student by the name of Aidan Mitchell had reported to school several days prior with severe burns on his hand and face that he'd declined to explain. Once in custody of the FBI, the boy had confessed to being forced by older kids to steal the ingredients needed to manufacture meth from the science lab. When McBride had come into the room, surprising him, he'd thrown the acid in his panic and hit the teacher over the head with the crowbar he'd brought along until McBride stopped moving. Then he'd called his friends who'd come to remove the body. They'd taken him to the abandoned house they were using as their meth lab at first, explaining the traces of the chemicals they'd found in the soil surrounding his body, but had opted to dump him in a field across town a few hours later. All of the kids were currently in custody. Mitchell, a sophomore and only 15, was the youngest of the group.

Bones looked around the small office of the science classroom that Booth had visited with Angela only a day earlier, her emotions conflicted about the outcome of the case. Several FBI agents were crammed into the small space, taking swabs and photographs so they could get as much evidentiary proof of the boy's confession as possible for the prosecution.

Walking into the room with two bottles of water he'd purchased from a vending machine in the school's cafeteria, he handed one to his partner and narrowed his eyes. "You okay Bones?"

She nodded, a weak smile that didn't meet her eyes gracing her face. "It's just that it feels like there isn't any real justice in cases like these."

Booth took a swig of his water and nodded, his expression grim as well. "It's always harder when kids are involved, no matter what end they're on."

Placing a comforting hand on her arm he smiled reassuringly at her. "We still got justice for David McBride's family. That's what we do, we find out the truth and we catch the people responsible."

She smiled a bit more at his words and he brushed a quick kiss to her forehead. Several of the agents in the room exchanged knowing looks between themselves at his gesture of affection and Bones felt her cheeks grow hot. "Everyone seems to be watching us today."

Booth grinned, his response coming out just a touch louder than it needed to in the small room. "No they aren't, they know to keep their noses out of things that are none of their business."

Just to prove his authority he kissed her forehead again and this time everyone kept their focus firmly rooted to their respective tasks. Bones chuckled slightly at her partner as he walked over to the file drawer. It always amused her when he asserted himself as the alpha male.

The small sound of someone clearing their throat reached Bones' ears and she turned to see Molly Dunham standing in the doorway to the office. Her eyes were red and swollen and she wasn't wearing a dot of make-up. Her hair was swept into a careless ponytail and she wore a light blue jogging suit. She looked a wreck and Bones' heart went out to the woman who had only yesterday learned that the unrequited love of her life had been murdered.

"Are you cleaning out his office? Already?" Her voice was soft and a little shaky as she looked imploringly up at Bones. This woman's loss had been the catalyst Brennan needed to come to grips with her own emotional turmoil and the connection she felt toward her was strong.

"We have to take some items and enter them into evidence, but the rest will be boxed up later by the school and sent to Mr. McBride's family."

Looking past the tall scientist at the busy agents, including Booth, she shook her head slowly in disbelief. "He's really gone. He's really not coming back."

Brennan tipped her head to the side as she observed the woman in front of her, wanting to understand more about the nature of the relationship she'd shared with the victim. "Ms. Dunham, I know from your FBI interview that you and Mr. McBride weren't in any kind of a formal relationship. Were you merely work associates or did you engage socially outside of work as well?"

Molly looked up at Brennan, regarding her for a moment and then shrugged a shoulder. "I guess I would say that we were friends. We didn't see each other outside of work very often, but we ate together almost everyday and we always volunteered to chaperone things together." She laughed at a sudden memory, her elfin face lighting up for a brief moment so Bones could see the pretty woman under all of the grief. "We chaperoned the prom last year. He got a tux and I went all out like I was a high school girl again with the dress and the hair and the nails, you know?"

Bones shook her head. "Actually, I don't."

Molly's eyes narrowed in confusion for a moment, but she brushed off the comment and continued. "The kids loved it, seeing us in all our prom best. We danced the last dance of the evening after the kids started chanting for us too. It was funny, just a lark to amuse them, but it was one of the most magical nights of my life."

An errant tear skittered down her cheek and she dashed it away with a small, embarrassed laugh. "You probably think I'm pathetic, holding such a torch for a guy that didn't see me the same way."

Brennan shook her head. "I don't find you pathetic at all." Glancing over her shoulder, she located Booth going through some classroom files and her heart fluttered.

"Well, I'll leave you to your work. Sorry to interrupt." The art teacher turned slowly away to leave and Bones' heart ached for the sadness that hung over the woman when a thought struck her.

"Ms. Dunham, wait."

The petite woman turned to look back just as she reached the door exiting the classroom. Brennan grabbed an item off of the science teacher's desk and walked it over to her, holding it out for her to take.

A soft smile touched her lips as she looked at the picture frame that Bones had placed in her hands. "I drew this for David. I gave him one for Christmas every year for the last three years."

Bones nodded. "Mr. McBride had all three of them on his desk. Anthropology teaches us that the items we keep closest to us are the ones we find the most personally valuable. For example, the ancient Egyptians filled their tombs with rooms of items from the individual's life, but the rooms closest to the sarcophagi where their mummified remains were interred held the items considered to be the most dear or precious to them."

Ms. Dunham looked at her as if Bones was speaking another language but she continued to listen politely, hoping that this would make sense at some point. Hearing the conversation, Booth stopped what he was doing to watch. Knowing Bones the way he did he had a vague idea of where she was going with this and it picked the corner of his mouth up into a small smile.

"David was a man of science and, as such, kept very little personal distractions in his workspace, including photos of loved ones or any other reminders of his personal life. But he kept these." She gestured to the art in Molly's hand. "So, even though neither of you ever said the words out loud, your gifts meant something to him and his placement of them in the area he spent the most time indicates that you meant something to him too."

Her breath hitching on a sob, Molly looked gratefully back up from the frame in her hand at Bones and, without warning, leaned in to grab her up in a hug. "Thank you Dr. Brennan. Thank you."

Bones smiled as she returned the hug, glad to help this woman who had secretly helped her so much. With a final squeeze Molly smiled once more in goodbye and turned to leave, taking the picture she'd drawn of the double helix with her.

The sound of footsteps had her turning to see Booth walking over to her, his smile warm. "You did an important thing for that woman Temperance."

She met his eyes, her expression earnest. "I simply gave her an example of anthropological study as applicable to her situation."

He encircled her waist and drew her closer. "And in the process, you gave her the closure that she needed. It was a very kind thing for you to do."

Placing a small kiss on her nose she smiled up at him tenderly. "Well it was empirically sound evidence to his thought process and, being a woman of science, I can relate to Mr. McBride. I know that I place items of significance closest to me so I can view them regularly."

Booth cocked his head. "Like what?"

Bones' cheeks reddened imperceptibly. "I have various bone samples in the vicinity of my desk that I've acquired on several noteworthy excursions, some books that were given to me as gifts through the years from respected individuals and-" She paused for a millisecond before she mumbled the last word so quietly that Booth almost missed it. "Jasper."

Booth's eyebrows lifted in surprise. "You keep the pig I gave you nearby?"

She nodded shyly, feeling corny but pleased all at once. "I keep him in my desk drawer. Sometimes if I'm having a hard day I…I pet him."

He eyed her in disbelief. "You pet him. The tiny plastic pig I bought you."

She felt foolish but the look in his eyes told her that he wasn't making fun of her. On the contrary, he looked elated. She evaded his eyes as she responded. "Sometimes."

He pulled her close, a chuckle rumbling soft and deep in his chest. "I love you Bones."

She smiled into his chest and couldn't remember a time in her life, ever, when she'd felt so happy or so content. "I love you too."


End file.
